1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a presser foot for a sewing machine. More particularly, the present invention provides a presser foot which makes it possible to apply seams, not only in parallel to the common, or conventional, sewing direction, but also to apply seams which lie, star-fashion, within a range of 360.degree. with respect to the axis of the sewing needle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The electronic controls which are built into present-day sewing machines make it possible to move the fabric being worked on, which lies between the fabric support and the presser foot, in any desired direction, even directions that lie crosswise to the forward and backward movement of the fabric feeder. In other words, the fabric-feeding motion encompasses a range of 360.degree..
When working outside of the normal conveying direction, a problem is encountered with conventional devices in that the presser foot, which is connected to the presser bar of the sewing machine, does not face into the corresponding sewing direction. The presser foot is attached to the sewing machine in a manner such that its alignment corresponds to the generally accepted sewing direction. Consequently, the highly bent sole parts, which form inlet radii and which facilitate the in-feed of the material to be sewn, underneath the support surface of the sole, are only fully effective in this one direction. If sewing is carried out at an angle to the common sewing direction, or even crosswise to the latter, the highly bent sole parts can fulfill their natural function only in part, or sometimes, not at all. The material to be sewed then accumulates laterally at one of the edges of the presser-foot sole, and--depending on the sewing direction--is more or less drawn and distorted; a problem which particularly affects elastic sewing materials. This produces an unattractive or even unusable sewing result. In so doing, seams, thickenings, hemmed borders and similar details already present in the material to be sewn are deleteriously affected and can become entangled at the sole of the presser foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,930,628, discloses a presser foot for a sewing machine, the sole of which can be inclined with reference to the horizontally lying support. For that purpose, a fastening screw at the presser foot must be loosened and the foot moved into the appropriate position. In the position as adjusted, the presser foot of the prior art must again be fastened and then maintains its position. This known presser foot is suitable for the sewing of straw hats, which are sewn together out of ribbons that overlap at the edges so that, during sewing, one-half of the presser foot always lies lower than the other half. Consequently, the presser foot must be placed in the angled position only once, after which the entire hat can be sewn in the adjusted position. The sewing direction always runs parallel to the lateral edges of the presser foot.